The Anti-Nihilism Themes in the Evangelion Series
If one will ask me how depressing the Evangelion series is, I will say depressing in a sense that it’s a reflection of a troubled mind. It will darken your brightest day, and probably makes your head itch, if not loopy.
But it won’t certainly leave you in a foul mood.
Believe me, I have seen it all. Regular soap operas are the prime culprit for pure heartaches. Those stuffs known as melodramas could bring in more negativities in your system, far more than that irritating Emo teen that won’t leave you alone. The Evangelion series, particularly the End of Evangelion won’t entertain you the same way as regular animes. But try watching stuffs like “You’re Lie in April” and let’s see if you could still smile (that’s an exaggeration though).
But even with less emotions than your average soap opera, Anno successfully conveyed to the audience what real depression meant. It’s more showing that telling, more as expressions rather than talking. And amid the sea of depressions, our characters still find their reasons for their very existence. In the Evangelion universe, life is gloomy, and destined to end as orange juice. They might as well kill each other or let the Angels take them if that’s the case. But still, our characters discover their worth amid the miseries, and still found meaning in the midst of their fouled-out world.
What Nihilism Would Look Like
It's hard to smile, if he and his kinds are always visiting.
One can define the world of the Evangelion series as a messed-up universe, destined for a messed- up end. It’s inhabitants seems to reflect the world they live in, through their collections of personal and emotional issues. Maybe the people are only products of such a troubled environment, and sick is the best word to sum everything. To cap it all is the fact that they must survive a constant visit by rampaging Angels, with troubled teens as protectors.
I once wrote how it sucks to be an adult in the Evangelion universe, it’s negativity portrayed in an ani